Outside the patcher
TheWraith
16 Feb 2010
have to forgive my spelling and grammer, but here i go 
ok firstly ide like to thank everyone whos worked on this auto patcher system, the concept is realy awsome, but alas ive yet to find a system that truly is for pc repairs in general, rather than happy go lucky formatters...
for example i see it suports Windows xp SP3, english and italian
(but just Sp3) this is clearly problematic in its self
(unless your just using it as an updater for your own Sp3 instilation)
wich would then be easier to just build an xp disk as up to date as you can then a bat file to later install other monthly requirements
so what if you come across a pc wih no SP, or Sp1, 1a, or even SP2 ?
right of the boot it kicks you out because Sp3 is not detected : /
then comes complexities of IE6, 7 or 8 & serial number entitlement
(wich is the one reason microsoft clearly slam these kinda projects)
ive not had much chance to look into the APM files yet,
had a little nose, but nothing jumped out as simple to build on : /
i assume the exe does most of the command work for paths ?
so a couple of questions...
if i take the xp system as a template & tried to change it to an XP (no sp) template
how does it no were the AMP files are that ive made & the paths of the folders for each update inside them?
i dont see how "windows_critical.apm" can load "KB931906_x86_enu.apm"
but i semi figure out why that apm file can automaticly find
[Installation]
"Module:\CAPICOM-KB931906-v2102.exe" /q:a
what i love about auto patcher is the menu, although it offers updates you dont realy need in "black" ide assume optional so called security updates) would be in red or something, it shows me a few that MS say i dont need but that says i do, ran MSB thing and a few other ms program scanners to test pc updates, i assume it wants me to have them as ive never had them
the interface has so much scope for potential and ease of use.
building one from scratch how ever, seams a nightmare : /
ive looked into "wsusoffline" i much prefer how that orginises the downloads (mostly) because it'll suport any os, but its down side is when it comes to using it to update a machine, it lacks the style of autopatcher and the options of extras
before i found this forum & auto patcher, id been working on a bat file system
it searches hard disks (rather than registry) to locate what its being run on
(main issues of yet are im to dumb to figure out how to define x86 or x64)
also it relies on certain files being avalible (files a user can delete, like IE7 & IE8 in the windows dir, as their just back ups of IE6 & IE7) so if their gone, my bat can assume wrong
upon checking for say a service pack
@echo off
if not exist %SystemRoot%\Driver Cache\i386\sp3.cab goto SP2_CHECK
:OFFER_SP3_UPDATES
%PATHTOFIXES%\BATS\Update32XP.bat
exit
:SP2_CHECK
if not exist %SystemRoot%\Driver Cache\i386\sp2.cab goto SP1a_CHECK
then comes the legalitys of serials and service packs
wich also brings into question what IE you can run and what Media Player version can be updated or installed with the Sp your serial will allow you
options for saying Y/N and jumping to microsofts own changekey.vbs XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
is easy (although not legal in most cases) unless you can get it to ask you to manualy type your new key from ms
so.... my mission (xp machines for example)
----------------------
(just with mainly BAT files)
to have an external hard disk wich...
identifies your CPU and selects the next bat = no
identifies your OS and selects the next bat = yes
checks for Home or Pro (by if takkill.exe exists) jumps to next bat = yes
checks for service pack level (looks in i386 for SP cabs) = yes
(now i wonder if x64 has an x64 folder in the driver cache) LOL (will check mates pc)
checks for IE8 then 7 (by lookin in windows/IE back up folders) wich is sloppy = yes
once this is in place i just add the updates near the end of the bat file each month, wich is easy
but due to the sloppy'ness of the checks, it requires me their on location with the drive
the idea is to be able to pass any moron a hard disk or thumb drive and say just run the autorun, end task when it tells you, then tell the person when their pc goes off & stays off.. its ready to use
i feel like im missing something with autopatcher when im looking at the apm files
idealy it should be able to open on XP, SP1, SP1a, SP2 and SP3
and offer updates & advice acordingly to Sp level it detects installed
having a bat file detected the OS "first" then launching the autopatcher.exe in that os folder saves the problem of autopatcher mixing up update folders
but wouldn't it be better with 1 autopatcher.exe that covers every XP cenario of every SP level
windows 2000 will die soon, leaving many pc's on the market (cheep)
many would run a basic XP (with no service packs) cheep jukebox media center for the bed room (no updates = no internet = no real need to try to run Sp3 and a virus killer on a pentium 3)
not everyone is going to want to install service packs on a none netted pc
not everyone can legaly do that nither, so many people still run older xp's offline
wich require stability updates more than security
also a lot of pc's i repair they dont actualy have the net
to elaborate a bit more, look at vista : /
the classic sticker that reads "this computer is designed for windows vista"
then you put SP1 on it and it slows to a crawl. by SP2 is begging for forgiveness
auto patcher seams to have more potential that its being used for
i mean to be honnest by the looks of it, its mainly used by people who "cant" actualy fix computers
and by that i mean.. oo its nackerd, we'll just format it, bang windows on then run this....
but what about when you get hold of a pc with windows Sp1 or 2 anything less than sp3 and you fix the pc, it wont even run the XP updater because it wants Sp3 first
(again removing the option of automation)
im torn between making an english win2000 (from the italian templte) and keeping on top of it as it'll end update cycle in july and would like a win2000 autopatcher of the final fixes
but then im torn to make one for xp, sp1, sp1a and so on as i work on xp machines more
...and 1 in 20 i work on have SP3 LOL
like i said.. its all well and good having your own super elite windows final cd to install
but not when ya working on a comp that just needs updating offline, especialy if its OS life cycle has also ended lol
checking DLL versions and stuff like the registry has got me realy interested in how auto patcher works and to how i can contribute my free time to helping it help me
any advice or tips would be most apreciated on some how combining auto patcher and bat files to break down interaction would be most helpful
apm files seam a whole other language : /
ok firstly ide like to thank everyone whos worked on this auto patcher system, the concept is realy awsome, but alas ive yet to find a system that truly is for pc repairs in general, rather than happy go lucky formatters...
for example i see it suports Windows xp SP3, english and italian
(but just Sp3) this is clearly problematic in its self
(unless your just using it as an updater for your own Sp3 instilation)
wich would then be easier to just build an xp disk as up to date as you can then a bat file to later install other monthly requirements
so what if you come across a pc wih no SP, or Sp1, 1a, or even SP2 ?
right of the boot it kicks you out because Sp3 is not detected : /
then comes complexities of IE6, 7 or 8 & serial number entitlement
(wich is the one reason microsoft clearly slam these kinda projects)
ive not had much chance to look into the APM files yet,
had a little nose, but nothing jumped out as simple to build on : /
i assume the exe does most of the command work for paths ?
so a couple of questions...
if i take the xp system as a template & tried to change it to an XP (no sp) template
how does it no were the AMP files are that ive made & the paths of the folders for each update inside them?
i dont see how "windows_critical.apm" can load "KB931906_x86_enu.apm"
but i semi figure out why that apm file can automaticly find
[Installation]
"Module:\CAPICOM-KB931906-v2102.exe" /q:a
what i love about auto patcher is the menu, although it offers updates you dont realy need in "black" ide assume optional so called security updates) would be in red or something, it shows me a few that MS say i dont need but that says i do, ran MSB thing and a few other ms program scanners to test pc updates, i assume it wants me to have them as ive never had them
the interface has so much scope for potential and ease of use.
building one from scratch how ever, seams a nightmare : /
ive looked into "wsusoffline" i much prefer how that orginises the downloads (mostly) because it'll suport any os, but its down side is when it comes to using it to update a machine, it lacks the style of autopatcher and the options of extras
before i found this forum & auto patcher, id been working on a bat file system
it searches hard disks (rather than registry) to locate what its being run on
(main issues of yet are im to dumb to figure out how to define x86 or x64)
also it relies on certain files being avalible (files a user can delete, like IE7 & IE8 in the windows dir, as their just back ups of IE6 & IE7) so if their gone, my bat can assume wrong
upon checking for say a service pack
@echo off
if not exist %SystemRoot%\Driver Cache\i386\sp3.cab goto SP2_CHECK
:OFFER_SP3_UPDATES
%PATHTOFIXES%\BATS\Update32XP.bat
exit
:SP2_CHECK
if not exist %SystemRoot%\Driver Cache\i386\sp2.cab goto SP1a_CHECK
then comes the legalitys of serials and service packs
wich also brings into question what IE you can run and what Media Player version can be updated or installed with the Sp your serial will allow you
options for saying Y/N and jumping to microsofts own changekey.vbs XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
is easy (although not legal in most cases) unless you can get it to ask you to manualy type your new key from ms
so.... my mission (xp machines for example)
----------------------
(just with mainly BAT files)
to have an external hard disk wich...
identifies your CPU and selects the next bat = no
identifies your OS and selects the next bat = yes
checks for Home or Pro (by if takkill.exe exists) jumps to next bat = yes
checks for service pack level (looks in i386 for SP cabs) = yes
(now i wonder if x64 has an x64 folder in the driver cache) LOL (will check mates pc)
checks for IE8 then 7 (by lookin in windows/IE back up folders) wich is sloppy = yes
once this is in place i just add the updates near the end of the bat file each month, wich is easy
but due to the sloppy'ness of the checks, it requires me their on location with the drive
the idea is to be able to pass any moron a hard disk or thumb drive and say just run the autorun, end task when it tells you, then tell the person when their pc goes off & stays off.. its ready to use
i feel like im missing something with autopatcher when im looking at the apm files
idealy it should be able to open on XP, SP1, SP1a, SP2 and SP3
and offer updates & advice acordingly to Sp level it detects installed
having a bat file detected the OS "first" then launching the autopatcher.exe in that os folder saves the problem of autopatcher mixing up update folders
but wouldn't it be better with 1 autopatcher.exe that covers every XP cenario of every SP level
windows 2000 will die soon, leaving many pc's on the market (cheep)
many would run a basic XP (with no service packs) cheep jukebox media center for the bed room (no updates = no internet = no real need to try to run Sp3 and a virus killer on a pentium 3)
not everyone is going to want to install service packs on a none netted pc
not everyone can legaly do that nither, so many people still run older xp's offline
wich require stability updates more than security
also a lot of pc's i repair they dont actualy have the net
to elaborate a bit more, look at vista : /
the classic sticker that reads "this computer is designed for windows vista"
then you put SP1 on it and it slows to a crawl. by SP2 is begging for forgiveness
auto patcher seams to have more potential that its being used for
i mean to be honnest by the looks of it, its mainly used by people who "cant" actualy fix computers
and by that i mean.. oo its nackerd, we'll just format it, bang windows on then run this....
but what about when you get hold of a pc with windows Sp1 or 2 anything less than sp3 and you fix the pc, it wont even run the XP updater because it wants Sp3 first
(again removing the option of automation)
im torn between making an english win2000 (from the italian templte) and keeping on top of it as it'll end update cycle in july and would like a win2000 autopatcher of the final fixes
but then im torn to make one for xp, sp1, sp1a and so on as i work on xp machines more
...and 1 in 20 i work on have SP3 LOL
like i said.. its all well and good having your own super elite windows final cd to install
but not when ya working on a comp that just needs updating offline, especialy if its OS life cycle has also ended lol
checking DLL versions and stuff like the registry has got me realy interested in how auto patcher works and to how i can contribute my free time to helping it help me
any advice or tips would be most apreciated on some how combining auto patcher and bat files to break down interaction would be most helpful
apm files seam a whole other language : /
Cristiano
16 Feb 2010
wow. it's an long post. let's see:
> i dont see how "windows_critical.apm" can load "KB931906_x86_enu.apm"
KB931906_x86_enu.apm says to autopatcher that windows_critical.apm is his parent and, due that, autopatcher will make the updates tree with KB931906_x86_enu.apm under windows_critical
> then comes the legalitys of serials and service packs
not in here. piracy doesn't belong to this forum
> autopatcher.exe that covers every XP cenario of every SP level
that it's possible, making modules to load into your targets. take a look:
[OperatingSystem]
WindowsVersion=XP_SP2_X86,XP_SP3_X86
this will make the module loads only in sp2 and sp3. of course, you can make modules targeting XP_SP1_X86 etc that will also works, if the update allows to be installed under your target
well, you can find more about the infos that you are looking in here. so please, read it
and please, we don't do and we also have an 0 patience with piracy in here. so please, don't ask questions about that
[]s
> i dont see how "windows_critical.apm" can load "KB931906_x86_enu.apm"
KB931906_x86_enu.apm says to autopatcher that windows_critical.apm is his parent and, due that, autopatcher will make the updates tree with KB931906_x86_enu.apm under windows_critical
> then comes the legalitys of serials and service packs
not in here. piracy doesn't belong to this forum
> autopatcher.exe that covers every XP cenario of every SP level
that it's possible, making modules to load into your targets. take a look:
[OperatingSystem]
WindowsVersion=XP_SP2_X86,XP_SP3_X86
this will make the module loads only in sp2 and sp3. of course, you can make modules targeting XP_SP1_X86 etc that will also works, if the update allows to be installed under your target
well, you can find more about the infos that you are looking in here. so please, read it
and please, we don't do and we also have an 0 patience with piracy in here. so please, don't ask questions about that
[]s
TheWraith
17 Feb 2010
thanks for the info 
i wasn't advocating piracy, im looking for a simple way to avoid piracy
this subject here
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328874
this is legal
my problem is i dont want it to just use a pre-defined key in the bat (that is ilegal)
i kinda want my bat file to point to the vbs and offer the user input
(were the user can type a new key if they have bought one)
i can just add one within the bat, but i "dont" wish to do that, if i did, i wouldn't be asking publicly, besides clearly the microsoft page explains how to do it & they provide the vbs file
i guess theirs more i got to learn lol
i wasn't advocating piracy, im looking for a simple way to avoid piracy
this subject here
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328874
this is legal
my problem is i dont want it to just use a pre-defined key in the bat (that is ilegal)
i kinda want my bat file to point to the vbs and offer the user input
(were the user can type a new key if they have bought one)
i can just add one within the bat, but i "dont" wish to do that, if i did, i wouldn't be asking publicly, besides clearly the microsoft page explains how to do it & they provide the vbs file
i guess theirs more i got to learn lol
Cristiano
17 Feb 2010
> were the user can type a new key if they have bought one
xp pro us to ask for xp pro keys. "corporate" xp ask for corporate keys. if the user is running an non genuine, the most provable scenario will be an "corporate" xp. you can't buy corporate as an ordinary user, an oem key will not work and an retail will not work either. that vbs will work only for the exact same windows version, that is the most unlikely scenario that you will find. so, that vbs only works in specific scenarios
[]s
xp pro us to ask for xp pro keys. "corporate" xp ask for corporate keys. if the user is running an non genuine, the most provable scenario will be an "corporate" xp. you can't buy corporate as an ordinary user, an oem key will not work and an retail will not work either. that vbs will work only for the exact same windows version, that is the most unlikely scenario that you will find. so, that vbs only works in specific scenarios
[]s
